Birds 'n Bites: "Following Forest Owls" with Dave Oleyar, PhD.

Tuesday April 20th, 2021, 7:00 - 8:30 pm

“Following Forest Owls: Community science-driven studies of tree hollows and the communities of small owls that adopt them” presented by Dave Oleyar, Ph.D, Director of Long-term Monitoring and Community Science at HawkWatch International

Small forest owls (including our focal species: Elf Owl, Flammulated Owl, Northern Pygmy Owl, Whiskered Screech-owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, and Western Screech-owl) constitute a sub-guild of species that adopt tree hollows for roosting and nesting. Despite cultural popularity, many species of small owl, both in the western US and globally, remain understudied.  The distribution and dynamics of tree hollows in different types of forest are equally understudied. 

Following Forest Owls (FFO), is a collaborative, community science driven research program where teams of community scientists recruited by the Earthwatch Institute join research staff in the field at one of two study sites: the Wasatch Mountains in Northern Utah or the Chiricahua Mountains in southeast Arizona.  Here we study the ecology of six small owl species and the tree hollows they adopt.

This event will be held virtually via Zoom. Contact Heather Dove,  to request a link to join the event.